Devil's Den State Park, Arkansas

Every time we visit Siloam Springs, we pass the 2 exits south of Fayetteville advertising Devil's Den State Park. I have always wanted to check it out, but it is only 55 miles from Bob and Dot's so it has never been a stop we have considered. This time, we made the stop! Now, there are two exits off I-49 (used to be I-540) that will take you to the park. The northern exit, #53 is the one for large vehicles. What they don't tell you is that once you get to the park it is a tight squeeze in the visitor center parking lot for check-in. Now that we have been, I would recommend that you have reservations for a specific site in Camping Area E before arriving. That way, you park your rig and drive your car or truck to the visitor center to register. The parking lot will fit one large rig and a few cars---more is a nightmare. Don't ask me how I know.....

 

 Once we chose our site (91) and got settled in, it was time for a hike!

 We chose the Devil's Den Trail. It was a great hike through rocky terrain.

 Bob and I both enjoyed seeing the rock formations. There are several caves at the park, but they are closed at this time to protect the bats.

This was the 'cooler' area of the trail. Cool air circulated up and out of the opening behind us making it feel about ten degrees cooler than it actually was.

 Much of this park was developed by the CCC back in the mid to late 1930s. In fact, Devil's Den was the first park selected to be an Arkansas State Park back in 1933.

 The next day we hiked Yellow Rock Trail and the spur to the CCC Overlook. Once again, there were great rock formations and spectacular views.

 The trail headed uphill for the first part. In fact we could look down and see the trail we had already walked.

 Once we got to Yellow Rock, the views really opened up before us.

 Not far from Yellow Rock was another rock outcropping...I couldn't resist, I had to go stand on it!

 From Yellow Rock we continued to the CCC Overlook built in the 1930s. We crossed several bridges to get to the overlook.

 The CCC did an excellent job building this overlook. They joked at the time, that they should win a Nobel prize for the best made overlook.

 Bob and I enjoyed our stay at Devil's Den, but we had to move on after only two nights (our site was only available for two nights).

Next stop: an old favorite----Harlow's Casino in Greenville, Mississippi. We have stopped here on several of our trips to overnight in their parking lot.

After our night at Harlow's, it was time to move farther into Mississippi. After a little research, we chose a Corps of Engineer Campground that was new to us. We would follow US 82 across Mississippi until we made the turn north toward West Point, Mississippi.